On the southern coast of Spain, large effigies burn and papier-mâché statues fall into themselves as smoke billows into the sky. Welcome to Valéncia, Spain where every March, thousands of people gather in the city center and celebrate Las Falles.
Las Falles (meaning torches) is a three-week celebration filled with music, food, and fire. Throughout the three weeks, you can hear the sound of mascletás (fireworks) every day at 2 p.m. But the real festivities take place in the last week of the festival. From March 15 to March 19, the streets of Valéncia are a continuous party.
Every year, a group of people from each neighborhood in the city work to construct a ninot in the chosen theme for that year. These ninots (or dolls) are paper-mache artistic monuments that depict satirized current events or politicians. Throughout the last week, all of these monuments are set up on the streets so that they can be seen and judged. Judges eventually decide which monument will be the ninot indultat, the only figure to be saved from the burning.
Once the ninots are all on display, the city creates a flower ofrenda for La Virgen de los Desamparados, the patron saint of Valéncia. The structure, amassed from thousands of flowers, reaches 15 meters into the sky.
The last day of the festival is the Cremá on March 19. That night, all the ninots, must be burned. The smaller ones start to burn around 10 p.m. and the final and largest ninot is burned at 12:30 a.m. Finally, the festival comes to an end with a large firework show that takes place at 1 a.m.
The roots of this festival are bound in tradition. While there are many theories regarding the origin, the most popular theory is that, in the Middle Ages, carpenters would use planks of wood to hang their candles on while they worked in the winter. However, when pring came, they no longer needed the extra light and would burn these pieces of wood to celebrate the equinox. Over time, these carpenters began adding clothes and old rags and created humanesque statues. It has since evolved into the satirical monuments that are burned today.
People still honor their heritage by wearing traditional Valencian dresses while dancing in special performances. The streets come to life with traditional food—the most delicious being Valencian buñuelos, which are pumpkin fritters.
This exciting festival is filled with loud music, delicious food, and smoke. For those traveling to attend Las Falles, be prepared for any weather. A spring Valencian night can go from great to rain-filled quickly, so make sure to bring both a rain jacket and a mask The smoke from these burning effigies is intense, and festival goers can’t go wrong with wearing a mask to protect their face and lungs from the scorching heat.
With winter soon upon us, everyone will want to cuddle up next to a fire. Why not take that to the next level at Las Falles and enjoy the magic that Valencia has to offer!